Saturday, June 9, 2012

Montana and back...Insanity...and Chicks!

Well the last few weeks have been nothing but a blur! I've been busy designing and building a chicken coop. We, along with our two dogs, traveled to Montana and back. And let me tell you...the chicks are here!
So we've decided that we wanted chickens. Well...I guess that I should say I wanted them and I somehow convinced Michael we needed them! Luckily the city of Edmonds allows 3 hens per household. So Michael said that I was in charge of the coop and the chickens. So...I got out my paper, ruler and pen and got to work!

After getting my plans all put together I went to Home Depot...NOT LOWES...to buy the lumber and supplies for my coop! Okay...if you've never purchased lumber of any sorts you will be surprised by the next little tidbit of information I'm about to give you. When you purchase a 2" x 2" x 8'...it is actually 1.5" x 1.5" x 8'! What The HELL! So I soon realized that all of my plans were off! After I talked myself off this ledge I realized that my sketches were merely a starting point. So over the next few days I put together the main parts of the my coop and run. So I wanted a coop that could hold three chickens and I didn't want to lose the ground space underneath it. During my research I noticed that they sold coops that had a planting bed over one part of the run. So that is how I designed my coop. So here are the pictures of the progress.

The frame of the run

Supports added for the Coop and the planting bed

Got the wire on! And the door works!

The hole for the "trap door" for the chickens to get down to the run.

Okay...so here it is...ready to be painted

The nest box and the trap door

Painting it the same color as the house

Well...here it is!

The planting bed full of dirt! Ready for veggies!

The boys being upset that they are getting more of their yard taken away!

Lettuce, swiss chard and kale :)

So this has been a fun little project for me! I'm so happy to see it evolve into what it is. My drawings didn't really look anything like this, but hey..it was nice to have a starting point!

Well in between the first coat of paint in the garage and moving it outside we took a 10 day trip to Montana. I'll post about that at some point...because it's too much for right now. :) We had a great trip, even with the two dogs in tow. But when we got home I realized I needed to finish the coop because we were going to be getting our girls in a week! So I finished the coop, planted the lettuce, chard and kale...and got ready to do other things.

Now we get to the point of this post where I talk about Insanity. Okay...remember a while back when I posted a video talking about my momentary lapse in sanity and ordered the Insanity workout program? Well...on June 4th I started my 60 day work out. And to my delight, Michael has decided to do this program with me. So on the 4th we took our first fit test. Okay I thought I was about to die! I can't even believe the things we had to do! And let me tell you, I was sore in places that I'd never been sore before! So I couldn't wait to see what the next days were going to be like.

Well on the 5th we started our meal plan. Since Michael has been working this week, I've had to get up at 6 AM and prepare 4 of his 5 daily meals. This has proved to be a bit trying at times because lord knows I'd love to just sleep in because I'm so sore! But today was actually a pretty good day. Michael got up even earlier so I did as well to get his things ready. And I did my workout...and the thing that got me through this was that tomorrow is our day off! Thank God for this!!! :) I can't wait to sleep in for a bit and NOT have to work out!

Today though was a great day! My sister came over, which is great in itself, and we went and picked out and brought home my and Michael's chicks! :) Please meet our girls...(they have no names yet...but soon, we want to see their personalities first before we pick names.)

Our girls in the box for the drive home!

The Queen AND Mother Hen!

Our girl...the Speckled Sussex

Our girl...the Black Australorp

Our girl...the Columbian Wyandotte

Basking in the warmth from the heat lamp!

It's been such a great day! These three girls are so dang cute! They've been pretty active and chirping, eating and pooping! :) Which makes me happy. The Columbian Wyandotte is a sleepy girl! She keeps falling asleep standing up. She'll be preening and then just nod off! I was cracking up as she kept leaning forward...and then she finally just plopped down and laid flat on the floor! :)

So the past few weeks have been super busy...and the next few weeks will be even busier with the girls growing up and getting ready to move out to their new home...the Taj MacChicken! :) Well hopefully I'll be able to get together a post about our trip to Montana! We drove through Yellowstone Park on the way east. :) Lots of great stories and some cool pictures! :) Until then...have a great weekend!